iPad mini selling out; iPhone 5 stock low at US carriers
updated 03:25 pm EDT, Fri November 2, 2012
Mini shortages may be linked to smaller shipments
Retail supplies of the iPad mini have sold out in a number of stores worldwide, accounts say. The most prominent example may be at Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue outlet in New York City, where all models sold out in a little over two hours. A number of stores in Canada, Singapore, the UK, and US states like Alabama and Hawaii have also reportedly run out.
Apple may, however, be shipping the Mini in relatively low numbers; as an example, one store is said to have received only 100 Minis versus 900 full-sized iPads. The 100-unit mark is allegedly being seen elsewhere too, though bigger stores may have up to 300 Minis in stock. Apple may have anticipated low demand; indeed, lineups have been small compared with numbers for other iPads.
iPhone 5 supplies at US carriers are meanwhile still limited, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. A Piper team has surveyed 70 Apple Stores, and found that AT&T and Verizon models are difficult to come by; supplies of Sprint phones, though, are improving. Sprint only began selling the iPhone late last year, and remains the least popular of the three nationwide US iPhone carriers.
